Jose Ramirez Hits 1,000th Career RBI

Cleveland Guardians star Jose Ramirez turned his 12th home run of the season into career RBI No. 1,000 on Friday night as the Guardians rallied past the Athletics 5-3 and stayed alone atop the American League Central. Ramirez connected in the sixth for a two-run cushion. He is just the second Cleveland player to reach 1,000 RBIs, trailing only Earl Averill's franchise mark of 1,084.

Rookie Travis Bazzana snapped a 3-3 tie with a homer in the fifth after Oakland jumped ahead 3-0 in the first on Zack Gelof's three-run shot. Joey Cantillo (10-9) followed opener Daniel Espino with six scoreless innings and two hits. Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith finished the combined three-hitter, with Smith working the ninth for his 38th save.

Central race stays loud

Cleveland entered the night tied with the White Sox for first in the division. Chicago owns the head-to-head tiebreaker after winning the season series, so every Guardians win still matters down the stretch. Cleveland is 18-9 since Aug. 20. The Athletics are 0-4 on their final road trip of 2026.

Ramirez's milestone landed in a game that needed every swing. Oakland had the early lead. Bazzana tied the night. Ramirez's sixth-inning blast gave Cantillo and the bullpen a real margin to protect. For a club grinding toward October, a franchise RBI landmark on a Friday win is the kind of named-lead board Smacktok fans can ride without inventing magic numbers that are not there yet.

Seven-time All-Star production is why Cleveland keeps hanging in the Central. One thousand RBIs is the stamp that travels beyond one box score. Averill's club record is still ahead. Ramirez just joined the conversation in the loudest way possible.

Ramirez has been the constant through Cleveland's September push. A 1,000-RBI night does not invent a clinch, and this desk will not invent one either. It does put a franchise stamp on a Guardians win that kept them alone in first for another morning. Averill's record is still the mountain. Ramirez just climbed onto the same ridge.

Oakland's early lead evaporated. Cantillo's six zeros held. Smith's 38th save closed it. Ramirez's swing is the name on the card, and 1,000 RBIs is the number that sticks.

September board

The Guardians keep the Central lead for another night. Ramirez's 1,000th RBI is the headline. Cantillo's six zeros are why it counted.

Twelfth homer. One thousand RBIs. Five-to-three in Cleveland. That is Ramirez's Friday night.